All
it takes to shake fashion up is a great new idea and Nomi Ansari has a lot of
bright, vibrant ideas up his sleeve. Instep talks to the blazing young gun of
fashion

By Ahmer Ashraf

A look at Nomi and you can tell that he is every inch a designer; surprising
people every now and then with his unique sense of dressing and the way he
carries his look. For the moment he seems inspired by Jamie Oliver, Nomi
sports long blonde spikes, his earlobes are studded with metal rings and his
wrists cuffed in thick leather bands. He usually wears a floral shirt,
embroidered at times in signature Nomi style, on his lanky frame. All of this
makes him stand out, but that is the idea.

walk
outFollowing the footsteps of...Nadya's mysteryNadya Mistry may never have made
headlines for her design sensibility but she has made news with her dramatic
walk out from Fashion Pakistan (the 'Karachi Council'). She has a retail
outlet and the will to spring board on the international arena via Pakistan
Fashion Week. Instep probes...

And there
is yet another walkout...Usman
DittuUsman Dittu, a qualified fashion
designer and an accomplished teacher stood with Fashion Pakistan (Karachi
fashion council) since its inception. But now as fashion week seems to be
getting closer, Usman Dittu has withdrawn from this council. Instep spoke to
the designer to find out why he suddenly decided to pull out of a council
that involves some of the biggest names of the fashion industry…

Fasi ZakaThere are very few facts in this
world. One of them is that a guitar player riffing with his friends in his
basement in a palatial house in Clifton is definitely decidedly not part of
an "Underground" band or scene.

One quintessential thing for
any boy or girl these days is to have that right pair of jeans. It may seem
like an easy task but it's not. Even in jeans, trends tend to change so quick
that you've barely got your old pair into the 'most wanted, well worn,
distressed look' and you have to go buy another shape. Well that's the price
you pay for being fashionable. These days, darker shades in straight denims
are in for the ladies and embroidery,

instep
interview
It's show time!Commercials, fashion
shows, music videos and image consultancy for the prestigious Lux Style
Awards – Nabila has done it all. Instep talks to this style diva to find
out what she's been doing these days...
By Maheen Sabeeh2006 marks the third time the Lux Style Awards have roped Nabila in as
creative stylist. This time she is responsible not only for the looks of the
stars but also for the styling of the segments. It's a bigger platform to
work on and as Tariq Amin steps out of the LSA loop, she has no real
competition. Twenty years into the business, Nabila is an icon in herself –
a diva who in fact has more star power than most of the celebrities she
serves. And with Pakistan's A-class superstars on her client list – actors,
actresses, musicians, cricketers, vjs and models included – that is no
small feat. Nabila's success lies not only in professional excellence and
hard work but also her addiction to perfection; she believes that the image
she gives her clients must always be as meticulous as her own. Professional
to the peak, she takes her job personally.

Meat dreams
are made of thesePakistani
Censorshuda Ganay Vol: I & II: Various ArtistsForget the 'various artists'
bit. They are various enough to take care of themselves. In fact enough to
turn this volatile series of albums into becoming this year's biggest sellers
in places like Peshawar, Quetta, Faisalabad and much of what is called
Interior Sindh. Yes, you read it right. Not only are they huge in MMA lands,
but that is where they originated from as well.

In the
pictureCorporate****ing: Bipasha Basu, Kay Kay
Menon, Rajat Kapoor and Raj Babbar
Directed by Madhur BhandarkarCorporate is an intelligent film that explores executive relationships in
a corporate world. It throws light on business giants who practically live in
a corporate board game where their employees serve as mere pawns. Deals are
made and smashed by the minute, whether by hook, crook or luck. It reflects
upon the machinery that binds together the government and politicians,
conglomerates, foreign investors, business tycoons and their families. As an
Indian interpretation, it predictably throws in a romance, a couple of
scandals, makes a sacrificial cow of the heroine and of course, has the
requisite bad guys.

starbytesHow far will Shahrukh go for a buck?The difference between Shahrukh and Aamir isn't merely the
difference of titles. King Khan has proved time and time again that his
motives in Bollywood are extremely commercial whereas Aamir has proved
himself a conscientious part of society – he's taken up the activist role
in movies like Lagaan, Mangal Pandey and Rang De Basanti and is now actively
engaging in a cause for the Narmada Dam displacement victims. Compared to
that, SRK seems to be playing on a weak wicket.Not only is he playing the defendant in the cola wars but he has added
fuel to fire by suggesting that these days pesticides are found in even
mother's milk.

By Maheen SabeehMeet Rushk
In a white collared shirt and black pants, Ziyyad Gulzar sits comfortably
opposite Uns Mufti, who looks like a schoolboy in a light blue shirt and dark
denims. Uns is at his computer that comes with keyboards and is surrounded by
small Asian artifacts. The room is crammed with amplifiers and electronic
gadgets. A black electric guitar stands still next to a colossal rack filled
with CDs and music magazines. Welcome to the Rola office, the media facility
of Uns Mufti. "We are not a label," yells Uns Mufti stroking his
chin. Ziyyad looks at Uns with a quizzical look and wonders out loud,
"So, what is Rola?"

By Aijaz Gul
He brought the little known shehnai to the centre stage of Indian classical
music. When he played the small strange instrument, traditionally played in
wedding processions or Hindu religious rituals, it was magic. The soothing
sweetness and sublime peace Ustad Bismillah Khan created with the shehnai
transcended borders and beliefs.

Musical NotesLatest video on the
blockAfter launching their debut album, Sajid and Zeeshan are back
with a brand new video, 'Have to Let Go Sometime'. The fact that the song is
relatively fast paced compliments the graphical nature of the video and after
'King of Self', 'Freestyle Dive' and 'My Happiness', this Peshawari duo once
again impresses with another great track. Sajid Ghafoor shows that not only
can he sing in English but that he has command over the language and sings in
just the right key and tone with perfect authority over words. There are few
directors out there who can make a simple

Vibes
CHARTS"Everybody sees me as this sullen and insecure little
thing. Those are just the sides of me that I feel it's necessary to show
because no one else seems to be showing them." --Fiona ApplePakistani1. One Light Year at Snail Speed - Sajjad and Zeeshan
2. Sawal - Rushk
3. Jilawatan - Call

instep
profile

Fashion's
wonder boy

All it
takes to shake fashion up is a great new idea and Nomi Ansari has a lot of
bright, vibrant ideas up his sleeve. Instep talks to the blazing young gun of
fashion

By Ahmer Ashraf

A look at Nomi and you
can tell that he is every inch a designer; surprising people every now and
then with his unique sense of dressing and the way he carries his look. For
the moment he seems inspired by Jamie Oliver, Nomi sports long blonde spikes,
his earlobes are studded with metal rings and his wrists cuffed in thick
leather bands. He usually wears a floral shirt, embroidered at times in
signature Nomi style, on his lanky frame. All of this makes him stand out,
but that is the idea.

Nomi features regularly
in social magazines often with any one or two or more of his many model
friends accompanying him on that night out. Ranging from Tooba to supermodel
Vinny, the girls swear by Nomi Ansari's talent. And models are very picky
when it comes to designers. After all, who knows the feel of a designer
outfit better than the woman who models them?

And Nomi Ansari has
that other great quality - he makes great copy. Be it print or waxing
eloquent on television, he has the chops that separate a
designer from a darzi. It is no wonder that Nomi Ansari is everywhere - he
may not have a retail outlet but he is 'out there' in every sense of the
term. In five short years, Nomi has carved a niche for himself in Pakistan's
fashion constellation.

Rewind five years in time; the fourth batch of PSFD came out
introducing a fresh crop of locally harvested fashion designers. There were
many names in that particular PSFD batch - Kamiyar Rokni and Maheen Kardar of
Karma, Hasan Sheheryar Yasin and Maria B - all of whom would go on to become
highly valued labels. What sets Nomi apart from his contemporaries is that he
went all the way up the ladder solo, that is without any financial backing
from investors.

"I didn't have
anyone supporting me - and it feels better to be who you are solely with your
own efforts," he says. "I don't believe in investors, actually I
have never believed in them," hinting that there were a lot of people
who wanted to invest in his growing business but he always had a dream of
making it on his own. "I started with a very small budget and it just
grew and I am happy that I went on my own," he says with a meaningful
smile.

Nomi's start in the fashion world was with the right people
and at quite the right time. From being associated with names like Maheen,
Frieha Altaf and Tariq Amin right at the start of his career, Nomi ended up
in the right crowd and only someone who is in fashion can tell why is it so
important to have a start with people who matter. He did an internship with
ace designer Maheen, went on to teach fashion drawing at AIFD and coordinated
shoots for Mag for a period of six months. This was all training that has
contributed immensely to Nomi's success.

Nomi opened his own studio three years ago. Before that he
operated from a workshop, which he started in 2001 (right after he
graduated), studio came as an extension of the workshop and then he ventured
into high street shops which stock designer labels. Nomi is smart with his
approach towards fashion, which he definitely treats as business; he knows
what would sell in the local market and he provides just that. Most of his
work is through orders - just like any other designer but at the same time,
he understands the importance of retail, prêt clothing and the high street
availability of a designer brand. He thinks business almost as much as thinks
fashion and that has worked
amazingly well for this young designer.

Via these outlets Nomi Ansari has one foot in Karachi and the
other in Lahore, stocking both at Labels and The Designers - the only two
stores that offer space to fashion labels. And if he had two more feet, one
of them is in Dubai and the other across the border in Delhi. That is what
one calls expansion, Nomi Ansari is already available in three countries!

After striking a deal with Kimaya - India-based chain of
stores stocking designer labels from India, Bangladesh and now Pakistan -
Nomi first started stocking in Kimaya, Dubai and then in Kimaya and Ayamik,
Delhi - which is his latest venture. That is a smart way of reaching out to
the masses locally and internationally, taking your designs right to the
streets. If you don't have enough budgets to open your own store, start
spreading your clothing lines to fashion stores. That being said, Nomi
certainly has a well thought out strategy for his business ahead, which
includes opening his own stores not just locally but internationally as well.

As a designer, Nomi he is excited about his opening in Delhi,
just as much as he was when he went to The Designers in Lahore or his first
effort to stock in Labels, Karachi. Nomi is extremely realistic about his
plans for expansion
and that is a positive sign for any designer. "It started from Dubai, I
was offered to come and stock in Dubai, when I was introduced to Pradeep and
Neha Hirani, the owners of Kimaya, by Andaleeb Rana," says Nomi.
"After that, they were very keen on stocking my label in Delhi as well,
which I did in Kimaya and now I also stock luxury prêt in the newly opened
Ayamik," he adds.

To Nomi, the idea of stocking at stores is an important one.
He thinks that these outlets make inroads for most designers to the retail
market. And that accessibility to the retail market is vital in Nomi's eyes,
"Everything leads to mass retail, all designers labels all over the
world follow the same strategy and that is why prêt is so important,"
says the designer who is well aware of the market shifts in fashion. When
asked what is he doing to cater to that huge segment of the market, he
unveils his plans of opening an exclusively prêt outlet, "Hopefully by
the beginning of next year, I should be able to open my own outlet and it
would just be about prêt clothing," says the designer whose definition
of prêt clothing includes embellished garments - which he specializes in.

"It's not that
embellished pieces are not prêt. They should not be very heavy or shaadi
wear. Prêt is good off the rack clothing that you can wear during the day,
anytime, occasion or no occasion," he adds.

Another aspect that
Nomi emphasizes on is the move away from traditional clothing to enter prêt,
"Prêt is not about designing dresses or western clothing, it should not
be only about western clothes. The idea is of separates of what we wear. This
is why I have always experimented with shalwar kameezes and came up with my
versions of it. We have to remember that we can only sell what we wear in the
local market," Nomi explains his theory of ready to wear clothing.

Nomi has capitalized on
the market which is looking for good quality designer wear, embellishments
are a part and parcel of Nomi's clothing lines - which are primarily
traditional - his USP is the cuts and use of colour and funk in his clothes.
His clothes are daring, even if they are veiled in traditional
embellishments.

Having said that, Nomi has been equally experimental with
western clothing. If he is known to revive Patiala shalwars (which became
quite a rage in the past couple of years) he can also be credited for coming
up with stunning western clothing. And he has shown his creative fling with
dresses in many adverts and shows. Take the segment of the first Lux Style
Awards as an example and his recent stint with Lux where he dressed Vinny,
Aaminah Haq, Iman Ali and Meera - the Lux girls - for the fifty year
celebration of the brand. Be it his dress for Frieha Altaf at Jazz Awards or
the lime one for Vinny, Nomi has that east and west balance going on in his
work that would make any of his outfits stand out on the most glamourous red
carpet anywhere.

It is clear that he
loves to design both, "I want to do good work regardless of designing
western or eastern outfits. Both excite me as long as I am satisfied with
them," Nomi says.

Keeping the idea of
spreading out to the masses in mind, Nomi has done several assignments apart
from working on his clothing lines and taking them to high street stores. He
designed for Vinny's V9 lawn line and before that, he had designed clothes
for Gul Ahmed fabrics. He links this idea to exports, which Nomi feels are
the road to progress for a designer and the industry as a whole, "We
need Pakistani labels to be seen at Harrods and Saks. I would love to export
abroad to big fashion stores under my label. Sadly, EPB has never helped me
with exports, it needs to start assisting young designers," complains
Nomi. Now the idea of exports and international buying with Pakistan Fashion
Week has been reinforced by IMG tying up with the Jang Group and Geo to doa world class event in Pakistan.

"I'm really
looking forward to showing my pret collection. It will be a Pakistani line
for international buyers. That doesn't mean shalwar kameez but I will
incorporate Pakistani tradition into contemporary clothing," says Nomi
excitedly.What started as
one council talk has given birth to two bodies, Fashion Pakistan which
operates from Karachi under Maheen's supervision and Pakistan Fashion Design
Council (PFDC) from Lahore under Hasan Shehryar Yasin. Nomi, since the
formation of the two, has been quite controversial figure between the two
councils. His fall out with Maheen while working there might have been a
strong reason from preventing him to join the Karachi based council. He took
a long time in making a choice between the two and has tentatively decided to
go with PFDC. That is understandable. Because of the shared PSFD history, his
loyalties remain with designers like HSY, Maria B and Kamiyar Rokni. "I
feel that one must be with people who they are comfortable with. I also feel
that PFDC suits me better," says Nomi but stresses that he hasn't joined
either council yet.

Nomi has also been
nominated for the Lux Style Awards for the fourth time, this time his name is
in the Couture Designer category and he is excited, "I am very happy.
They nominate me each time and every time I get happy," he says with a
smile. There has been much brouhaha about the Lux Style Awards about
impartiality but Nomi has no such complains, "I am very positive, I
think it's the biggest event of the year and everyone wants to be a part of
it." Nomi can be accused of many things, but being a spoilsport isn't
one of them. He realises he is in a competitive business and is ready,
willing and able to play ball – people who know they have it in them to win
never shirk from playing the game.

walk
out

Following
the footsteps of...

Nadya's
mystery

Nadya Mistry may never have
made headlines for her design sensibility but she has made news with her
dramatic walk out from Fashion Pakistan (the 'Karachi Council'). She has a
retail outlet and the will to spring board on the international arena via
Pakistan Fashion Week. Instep probes...

Instep: Why have you
decided to withdraw membership from Fashion
Pakistan?

Nadya Mistry: I never
joined them in the first place. As far as I know, nobody has joined the
council except for the directors and a few of their friends. I was asked to
join and was given the memorandum and was asked to pay.

Instep: How much did you
pay?

NM: I have not paid
anything.

Instep: But you were
inclined to. What caused the sudden change?

NM: When I got back from
India I was being asked to join over and over again. When I read the
memorandum I discovered that this is not a council they have started, not a
non-profit body but it's a company in the true sense of the world. I read the
clauses which were perfect but for a private limited corporation. It was
started as a business, to make money and will have nothing to do with an
association promoting people. The directors are acting on a personal, not
national level.

Instep: What you're
implying is that seven very credible designers, who are the founding members,
are willing to put their reputation at risk to make a little money through
the council.

NM: Yes, that seems the
case. That's why one starts a business isn't it. Read the memorandum – the
entire premise of it is wrong. These founding members are actually owners, or
directors of the company. They can take loans against it; they can travel and
pay their bills with this money. We are the ones funding it so what are we
getting in return? And it's not a little money. Other than the membership
fee, they are asking for two hundred thousand rupees to show at Fashion Week
and they are also asking the event managers for money. Do the math – that's
a huge sum.

Instep: They obviously need
these funds to set up an operative infrastructure. Don't you think these
funds are required to serve that purpose? Shouldn't you trust them?

NM: There cannot be any
trust, you see. They are all designers. What makes you think that they're
going to look out for us and/or give us opportunity. The other designers are
not going to be promoted. Let me give you an example. Many of us were taken
to the PM House for the AHAN project. One by one we were all cut off from the
deal which was entirely dominated by most of the founding members. I was even
told by a certain member that he wouldn't work on the project if I were part
of it. Then executive body meetings were called without calling us. How can
these people be trusted? When I complained and called for a meeting to
discuss these issues, the company secretary misbehaved and I hung up. I was
told that they didn't have time for all this.

Instep: How have other
Fashion Pakistan members reacted to this?

NM: They are all concerned.
Why do you think they aren't joining? What's taking them so long? They all
have doubts about the credibility of the council. The founding members cannot
be active designers. It's a conflict of interest. They have to be neutral.
Elections cannot happen now. The board has established itself for three
years. I know at least 30 designers who are not joining.

Instep: Didn't your fall
out also involve a "tailor" problem?

NM:That wasn't the main issue. I was upset about it. I mean how could
they do this to me when I was in need of their help?

Instep: Don't you think
this issue was too trivial and petty to be blown out of proportion?

NM: No it wasn't trivial,
especially as it was one of the issues discussed in the preliminary meeting.
That's my point. Maheen made it very clear that issues with tailors,
embroiderers and workers would be discussed and solved by the council. That
included wages and tailors leaving one designer for another. Maheen quoted
how she had suffered because of these situations and that they needed to be
controlled. For a director to take my tailor after this was a breach of
trust. I'm not saying the tailor could not take up a better opportunity but
that designer should have simply given me a call for my clearance. It
required a simple ethic. There was a way to do it. It's the principle I'm
fighting for. My tailor was offered a job as a designer, stolen from me,
after I had spent so much time training him. The workers need to be
controlled and this is one thing you expect from a council. Now how can I be
trust these directors to work in my interest? These are practical problems
and I was made a complete fool of.

Instep: So will you be
joining PFDC now?

NM: No I'm not interested.
And I won't even be approached since I've been vocal against them too. I'll
be working as an independent designer.

Instep: Do you think
that'll benefit you when Fashion Week happens?

NM:Sure, why not. There are many designers who have decided to operate on
an independent basis. And IMG will judge us for what we're worth, not for
joining a council. What do they care about the politics? These councils have
no credibility; no history of performance. Fashion councils are primarily
meant to facilitate the growth of new designers anyway. I see no purpose in
joining them; Fashion Week can't be the reason to join a council. And we
should not be asked to join at gunpoint.

--Nadya
Mistry was talking to Aamna Haider Isani

And
there is yet another walkout...

Usman
Dittu

Usman Dittu, a qualified fashion designer and an
accomplished teacher stood with Fashion Pakistan (Karachi fashion council)
since its inception. But now as fashion week seems to be getting closer,
Usman Dittu has withdrawn from this council. Instep spoke to the designer to
find out why he suddenly decided to pull out of a council that involves some
of the biggest names of the fashion industry…

Instep: Is it true that you have withdrawn from Fashion
Pakistan?

Usman Dittu: I had never joined it in the first place. I
was going to but a lot has happened and I felt that I could not be a part of
it.

Instep: Why did you change your mind?

UD: I read the memorandum for FP and it was for a private
limited company with directors. A company aims for profits, benefits for its
directors. To call it a council is wrong because a council isn't about a few
people and what they can accomplish through it. It is about the rights of all
the members involved. My first issue came with transparency of accounts. The
founding members told me, along with many others, that once you become a
member and obtain a membership card, you can take a look at the books
(accounts). However, in the memo it was stated that all seven directors had
to be present in order for one member to take a look. Two of the seven
directors (Nilofer Shahid and Honey Waqar) reside in Lahore. Even if they fly
down, a written application has to be filed by a member before he can take a
look.

Secondly, if one of the seven members for any reason was
not working towards the common goal, he or she cannot be disqualified for
minimum three years. If one third of the directors feel that he should stay,
he will and none of the other members can do anything.

Thirdly, according to the memorandum, all directors, if
traveling abroad have a right to the company account. That means, the council
will pay their ticketing, lodging, traveling and any other expense that they
incur. There is nothing wrong with it but there has to be a limit. They can
spend a million dollars and again, no one can say anything.

Moreover, executive members had no role to play. We were
toldone thing and something
else was happening. This was a mockery.

Instep: Did you talk to them about your problems?

UD: Every time, the council called in a meeting, I would
be there. I was there since the beginning. But the one time I wanted to clear
out the issues and call a meeting, it was refused. Not just that, I was being
ignored.

Instep: You're talking about some of the biggest
designers of this country. Who exactly is 'making money' through FP?

UD: I cannot take anyone person's name because I am not
sure who is doing what and how. I am kept out of the loop alongside others.
All I can tell you is that this council is fraud. No one can be disqualified,
no limit on expense accounts. This council was about helping new designers
and promoting them. It seems to be doing other things.

Instep: Do you agree with Nadya Mistry's statement that
the council is about seven directors and profits that they will make?

UD: Again, a company and a council are not the same
thing. Instead of helping fashion grow, this council is a total mockery. It
is about their own gains.

Instep: Does this mean you're considering joining PFDC?

UD: No, I'm really not. They don't have a Memorandum of
Association yet. Once they do, I'm pretty sure similar things will happen
over there.

Instep: What are the main problems that new designers
face these days?

UD: If they are coming from schools, they need at least
1-3 years to create that balance between experimentation and market demands.
They learn how to improve with time. Problems come with designers who do not
have any qualifications. They sometimes cheat others, they don't know how
exactly is it that they can improve and learn trends of the market because
they were never taught otherwise.

Instep: What is your take on the upcoming Fashion Week?

UD: Fashion Week is a huge money game that FP wants to
play. I have met with IMG officials. They are interested in doing Fashion
Week with designers, not councils.

I have already started working on a western line for
Fashion Week – jackets, skirts, and dresses – it'll be ready to wear.

Instep: Do you also plan to go into retail?

UD: There was a time in the '90s when demand for
boutiques went down. People started working from home and exclusivity was the
goal. Now the demand for retail is back. People want to go to stores and buy
ready to wear. So yes, I do want to venture into it.

Instep: What are you upto these days?

UD: I've moved into my new studio. I've just come back
from Delhi. Apart from a range of lines for the fashion week, I'm also
designing Bridal Wear.

--Usman Dittu was
talking to Maheen Sabeeh

Bury
the Underground

His
Bigness

Fasi Zaka

There are very few facts in this world. One of them is
that a guitar player riffing with his friends in his basement in a palatial
house in Clifton is definitely decidedly not part of an
"Underground" band or scene.

The other fact in this world of few undisputed facts is
that the word "Underground" is not only a cliché but actually a
misnomer in Pakistan. It's a term that is overused and incorrectly done so.

Underground music is music that is commercially unviable,
has a cult following and very little visibility. Some of today's mainstream
music like punk rock and grunge were once described as
"underground" music. But change in public tastes created acceptance
for these marginalised forms of music and they became legitimate genres over
time.

In a way that's what underground music is, a description
that is a temporary shelter for certain types of music until a word is coined
to define the emerging genre.

But each time I hear a band describe themselves as
"underground", I cringe. What they really mean is that they are
unsigned, don't have videos or much in the way of popularity.

Plus there is a very close link between being
"underground" in the real sense of the word and being
anti-corporate. The reasons being underground and anti-corporate overlap is
because bands that are pushing the boundaries of accepted sounds are not
playing by the rules of convention, and that is something the marketplace
rarely rewards. But these bands aren't concerned by that and continue with
their music.

Most of the bands I know who like to think of themselves
as "underground" actually are in it for mass popularity, critical
kudos and money. They may be singing mainstream rock, pop-rock or even chorus
friendly radio rock (all of which are the tamest forms of the genre), but see
no contradiction in the description they give themselves.

Since we are talking about clichés, one of my favourite
ones is "The road to hell is paved with good intentions". Well that
means NFP is going to hell because he coined the word "underground"
in Pakistan.

I still remember the early articles he came out with that
so persuasive they spawned a whole movement that began to organise itself
(that's testimony to the power of gifted writing). What's more, a feeling of
disenchantment was created on the existing aesthetics of the pop scene in
Pakistan. The sounds that were emerging then mimicked the rawness of grunge
and the attitude of punk.

Unfortunately the reason NFP lent his active interest in
the "underground" movement was also to spawn a generation of
politically conscious songwriters, and that part seemed to escape the logic
of the underground scene. It became a reason for bands to organise and
actually become more of a DIY (do it yourself) movement. DIY is a philosophy
that undercuts the whole chain of commercial music distribution and business,
which bands like Corduroy have already done in Pakistan by releasing their
own album themselves and organising small concerts.

Plus, some bands of that era also became afraid of the
political overtones the movement had and sought to clarify that they didn't
have the same politics as NFP who was pushing the movement in the press. By
denying that, the movement had no legs to stand on because musically they
were not pushing the envelope (they played music that was familiar
alternative rock), the only true ground to be underground was to develop a
genre that didn't exist, which in Pakistan would have been politically
conscious music.

But, whatever the reasons, we can let by-gones be by-gones.
And to the word underground – be gone!

Flash

FASHION UPDATE

It's all
in the jeans

One quintessential thing for any boy or girl these days
is to have that right
pair of jeans. It may seem like an easy task but it's not. Even in jeans,
trends tend to change so quick that you've barely got your old pair into the
'most wanted, well worn, distressed look' and you have to go buy another
shape. Well that's the price you pay for being fashionable. These days,
darker shades in straight denims are in for the ladies and embroidery,
rhinestones, sequins and colour patches and stitches are an essential
addition to this item. For guys, loose-fit jeans with big pockets and the
faded look are 'in' trend. This season, like everything else Black is a hot
favourite even in jeans. But it should also be remembered that pairing your
favourite jeans with the right top is a must. Colours like gray, olive, blue
and white compliment dark shaded jeans. Denim jackets also make for a
fabulous match with a dark coloured tee, thanks to rock 'n' roll influence
making a comeback. For a funky mix, top jeans with graphic and tattoo-like
art on tees. Good pair of jeans can be found anywhere from Zainab Market to
Sunday Bazaar, Levi's and Wrangler. Mantra is always a good choice for
finding the right kind of t-shirts, tunics and tops.

instep
interview

It's show
time!

Commercials, fashion shows, music videos
and image consultancy for the prestigious Lux Style Awards – Nabila has
done it all. Instep talks to this style diva to find out what she's been
doing these days...

By Maheen Sabeeh

2006 marks the third time the Lux Style Awards have roped
Nabila in as
creative stylist. This time she is responsible not only for the looks of the
stars but also for the styling of the segments. It's a bigger platform to
work on and as Tariq Amin steps out of the LSA loop, she has no real
competition. Twenty years into the business, Nabila is an icon in herself –
a diva who in fact has more star power than most of the celebrities she
serves. And with Pakistan's A-class superstars on her client list – actors,
actresses, musicians, cricketers, vjs and models included – that is no
small feat. Nabila's success lies not only in professional excellence and
hard work but also her addiction to perfection; she believes that the image
she gives her clients must always be as meticulous as her own. Professional
to the peak, she takes her job personally.

With the addition of Zinc and Nail Express, Nabila's
empire has expanded. And with this expansion, one notices a change in her
outlook. There is almost an acceptance of everything she has always lashed
out against, the overindulgence in culture and tradition especially. She may
still not condone it, but she is definitely more open to working with it.
Which is a good thing. When someone like Nabila recognizes the potential
Pakistan's entertainment industry has and helps build it up instead of
cutting it down to size, she becomes a stronger force to reckon with.

Instep caught up with Nabila to find out she planned the
mammoth LSA event last night and what she has been doing these days...

Instep: You came up with the idea of giving celebrities a
cultivated style for LSA. How did it begin and why is it important?

Nabila: It happened about 3 years ago when I participated
in the LSAs for the first time. Unilever wanted me to do a segment for them
but I put my foot down. I couldn't separate my segment from others. On
television, how could one tell what I had done and what others had done and I
did not want to endorse someone else's bad taste. I asked for exclusivity and
told them that I'd handle the whole thing no matter how hard it was. Between
my Karachi and Lahore team, I had an army of people who are trained to make
it happen. It was a very big challenge and I said that I wouldn't just do
hair and make up.

Instep: Why not?

Nabila: I can do drop dead gorgeous hair and make up but
if people are wearing the wrong clothes, wrong jewelry and the wrong shoes,
then the hair and make up can't work on their own. The style goes head to
toe. I would rather be responsible for the entire look.It was a very far fetched idea at that point because it
seemed unmanageable. But I told Unilever that this is how it is done in the
west. Celebrities and stars go to designers. It's good publicity for the
designers, the red carpet exposes who's wearing whom and one gets a lot of
backstage publicity. I'm quite flattered to see now that everybody is doing
the red carpet now. I'm sure nobody remembers but thank you for asking and
remembering that this was my idea.

Instep: How does it work between you, a designer and a
celebrity? Do you pick out designers for a particular person or do the stars
do it?

Nabila: It's almost like planning your daughter's
wedding. You have to know what she wants, know what the occasion is. You have
to go to the right designer and get their input and get make all the involved
parties happy within your budget. Imagine I had 280 brides! What we do is
firstly look at a designer's portfolio. We look at his/her work, interests,
and style of designing. We ask a celebrity if he/she has any preferences. If
she is flexible, I'll go back to the designer and tell him or her that this
celebrity wants to wear your clothes or I'll give the star other choices and
whichever designer she picks, I'll coordinate with them.We have a pool of designers who are keen on working with us. And
that includes everyone from your top tier to the struggling and upcoming
designers. I want to promote anyone who is showing the right design and
enthusiasm. It's not about labels only.

Instep: How is this 'image consultancy' different since
this is Lux's 50th year and the fifth year for the Lux Style Awards?

Nabila:I'm
just a part of the team. The briefing comes from Unilever. One hopes that the
awards will be smoother than last year because every year has been
progressively better than the previous. This year is going to be more
glamorous, festive, grand and formal. Last year was more MTV. This year, it's
more like the Oscars. It will be much more regal and grand. Designers like
Sana Safinaz, Sonya Battla, HSY, Karma, Nomi Ansari and Tazeen Hasan all are
on our list. Maheen is not in town but I'm sure when she gets back, I'll grab
her for something.

There are also new names that we are involving like
Maheen Karim, Arshad Tareen, a few people from the Karachi fashion school (AIFD)
as well as Lahore. There are a lot of new portfolios that I'm getting.

Instep: Have there been problems with you being incharge?

Nabila: The reason that all these designers are
comfortable working with me for the third time is because I don't come across
as a dictator. If you ask me to stitch something, I won't be able to. I've
got aesthetics but I'm not a designer. I just sit with them and say what do
you suggest and this is the girl and she would like to look like this. I give
my suggestions but it's mainly teamwork.

We've got Amna from Arts and Gems who is amazing and has
been the jewelry designer for LSA for the past four years. I'm talking about
diamonds, pearls and platinum. Each piece is crafted to go with a particular
person's outfit. Last year, Vinny was wearing red so we made her a big
gorgeous ruby with a white pearl rock. My job is to mediate between the
designer and the star.

Instep: IMG will do a fashion week later this year. How
do you feel about them coming in?

Nabila: Well, I'll be very happy to see it. I've been
hearing about it for at least 12 years now. A couple of years ago, Maheen
called me up and she asked me how stylists come in. I told her she'll be very
lucky if she could get 10 designers in her council and not have them bitch
each other out. This is a very bitchy industry and people have egos bigger
than their portfolios. And I think it's a huge challenge that we've taken on.
We've already seen a breach between Lahore and Karachi so I hope that these
designers can get off their high horses and work as a team and keep the
bigger picture in mind. I wish them well as I know it's going to be a rough
ride.

Instep: What challenge do you think the fashion industry
will face when it comes to doing a fashion week?

Nabila: I met the IMG team and I had a good chat with
Simon (IMG-Asia Pacific Head) and I asked him, how he was going to teach
these designers aesthetics? I don't mean it in a bad way. If I want to buy a
nice white shirt I would either go to Sunday Bazaar or take a flight and go
somewhere else to buy it because I don't know anyone here who can do a
beautiful nice white cotton shirt and that's the simplest it can get or a
lovely stylish black dress with the right kind of finish.

We're into costumes and museum kind of work. For me it
doesn't work. I don't have time for nostalgia. Even our trained designers
have started doing shaadi clothes. I would ask the fashion council where I
could buy a white shirt? Maybe if one of the members can make me a beautiful
white shirt, which I enjoyed wearing, than hats off to them.

Instep: After not announcing LSA fashion nominations last year, this year the
list is out. How do you feel about being nominated?

Nabila: I just found out that I've been nominated. The
only thing I felt bad about was that I've been doing so much work that I
never got time to put together my portfolio but I guess they've changed the
judging system. I've participated twice and I've won both times. I feel good
that I've won but I'm not really proud of it. I mean, look at the people I've
won against. It's no competition. It's not fun playing unless you have real
players in the field. In fact, my suggestion this year to them is to make
sure that dragons can't win i.e. Nabila or Ather Shahzad. Give the chance to
newcomers. There are only a few people like Ather Shahzad, Tariq Amin and
Saima. I think it's not fair that I compete with them or they compete with
me. I'm in a league of my own so I should be left out and not compete with
them. That's my point.

Instep: Tariq Amin has withdrawn from the nomination. Without him as a
nominee, the outcome seems predictable. What do you think?

Nabila: I don't know why Tariq pulled out but he must
have his reasons. I don't think he was nominated last year either. I haven't
seen much from Tariq apart from doing a few music videos and hair and make up
for fashion shows organized by Frieha Altaf. It's not like there isn't
competition. Ather Shahzad, Khawar Riaz – they are good too.

Instep: How important are the LSAs for the fashion and entertainment
industry?

Nabila: I think it's a very noble thing that Unilever has
done. They could've easily made four commercials out of this budget and
could've sold their soap. But what they're doing is building a brand to give
the fashion and the media industry a platform and if I can help them achieve
that goal in a small way, I'll be happy. I had to fight in the dark but the
presence of LSAs will give new comers a chance.

Instep: What kind of a show are you expecting it to be this year?

Nabila: You probably won't believe it but I have no clue
as to who won, who was nominated. I didn't even go last year because I have
been so engrossed in delivering the work I've taken on.

Instep: Tell us about the latest Lux commercial you did with Babra Sharif,
Meera, Vinny, Aaminah Haq and Iman Ali – how was the experience?

Nabila: It wasn't easy but we had to get the mood right.
It was very important for each of them to trust me and believe that I was
going to do my best for each one of them without any bias. At the end of the
day I wanted to look good, therefore I needed all of them to look good which
they did. It was challenging but I had a lot of fun because I enjoyed the
process. The ad came out very well. There was glamour, fun, style and an
understated elegance that we wanted to show.

Instep: You're working with Immu (of Fuzon) on a project. Can you elaborate
on it?

Nabila: I feel Immu is the brain behind Fuzon and I feel
bad about the fact that his voice hasn't been heard. He's a very humble,
behind-the-scene person and wouldn't aggressively push himself. He is the
sound engineer and music producer for the band. I've worked with him over
some projects and he's a magician. What I can do for image, he can do for
sound. What we're working on now is a project called Emix. It is going to be
a company, which is going to pick up singers at random and mix them in a very
funky way. They can be from abroad or here, established as well as new
comers.

Instep: Where do you come in with 'Emix'?

Nabila: The idea and genius is all Immu. I will do the
makeover of the involved artist. It's really exciting. I'm looking forward to
it.

Instep: What did you wear to the awards?

Nabila: The devil wears Prada!

Meat
dreams are made of these

Pakistani
Censorshuda Ganay Vol: I & II: Various Artists

Forget the 'various artists' bit. They are various enough
to take care of themselves. In fact enough to turn this volatile series of
albums into becoming this year's biggest sellers in places like Peshawar,
Quetta, Faisalabad and much of what is called Interior Sindh. Yes, you read
it right. Not only are they huge in MMA lands, but that is where they
originated from as well.

Yup! Contradictions galore in this land of the pure. But
also let me tell you, ironically, such blatant "fahashi" seems to
be the only thing left to stand up tall against the lingering ghosts of Zia's
reactionary legacy. Because since the liberals are too busy creating their
own lil' Beverly Hills in music rooms and celebrating the glorious arrival of
McDonalds and KFC, it seems the only way left to distract the mullah brigade
is to short–circuit their over active moral antennas into shocked
submission.

The above is
exactly what these two volumes have managed to do. I am sure their huge sales
in the NWFP and Balochistan must certainly have created great doubts about
the longevity of the mullah brigade's electoral popularity in the said
provinces. Let's hope so.

These are songs, which the censors chopped out from such
delightful sounding Punjabi and Pashtun films like Ghunda Tax, Kala Gujar,
Sultan Daku and from films that were not allowed a release at all.

And I tell you, if you are able to keep away some of your
refined, restrained (and repressed?) bourgeoisie habits and morals aside for
a while, these albums can then be a hell of a listen. In fact, they kick ass!
(Sometimes rather literally).

I like to think of them as speed–metal/thrash
equivalents of Punjabi film music. Actually, this is exactly the sort of
in–your–face and piss–off attitude missing in our so–called
"underground rock scene." Because regarding all the bans the
mullahs love to impose, and all that pretentious and amoral leakage much of
our music scene is awkwardly riddled with, these albums are like saying,
"if you can't join them, piss them off!"

The music is upfront, minimalist full of roughed up glitz
and that '70s type over made, soft porn glam. Moreover, so are the lyrics.
Purely primordial. Second degree porn meant to communicate third degree
'love'.

Wonderful.

In
the picture

Corporate***

*ing: Bipasha Basu, Kay Kay Menon, Rajat
Kapoor and Raj Babbar

Directed by Madhur Bhandarkar

Corporate is an intelligent film that explores executive
relationships in a corporate world. It throws light on business giants who
practically live in a corporate board game where their employees serve as
mere pawns. Deals are made and smashed by the minute, whether by hook, crook
or luck. It reflects upon the machinery that binds together the government
and politicians,
conglomerates, foreign investors, business tycoons and their families. As an
Indian interpretation, it predictably throws in a romance, a couple of
scandals, makes a sacrificial cow of the heroine and of course, has the
requisite bad guys.

The
first half of the film is boring. In taking up this theme, Madhur Bhandarkar
overindulges in corporate jargon and in turn drastically reduces the
entertainment value of the film. Initially Corporate seems more like a
business marketing class rather than a commercial feature film. While it's
refreshing to see storylines in Bollywood expanding their horizons and taking
up new themes, it seems the writer of Corporate has too much information to
play with and he doesn't know where to stop. Introductions to the Sehgal and
Marwah empires are made with an inundation of corporate detail that serves no
practical purpose. One doesn't really need to know the business lingo it
painstakingly defines, to understand the story

Despite the
film revolving around the two businessmen and their battles, Bhandarkar
follows his self–set tradition of having a woman in the leading role (Page
3, Chandni Bar, Satta). Corporate then gradually becomes the story of
Nishigandha Das Gupta, played by a gorgeous Bipasha Basu, who as vice
president of SGI and betrothed of the senior vice president, gets caught
between the firing. She is shown as a cut throat executive who'll go to any
length to get her company a deal (except sleeping with the enemyas a Hindi film heroine her morals are always in place and she'll only
sleep with the man she loves which is now an acceptable phenomena), until she
sudden shifts gear and sacrifices all her principles for her lover who also
happens to be Vinay Sehgal's brother–in–law. Confusing? Not at all. As
the smartly dressed impressive woman turns into a pregnant, shabbily dressed
convict, Corporate too turns into a run–of–the–mill Hindi formula
flick.

In the
second half of the film, the story picks up when the corporate deals build up
towards their climaxes and it's interesting to see the corruption that seeps
in, overriding ethics to the extent of releasing a soft drink that is laden
with pesticides and declared unfit for human consumption by the FDA. The FDA
is bribed, the cola released into the market and when the protests start
mounting, Vinay Sehgal convinces Nishi to take the blame. She goes to jail
leaving behind a whimpering and guilty but powerless boyfriend and the
corporate games begin all over again. The story would have been more powerful
had Nishi not been overridden by emotions, volunteering to give up her life.
With the character she had been given, it would have been more realistic had
she too been 'tricked' into the scam like everyone else. Page 3 would have
lost all impact had Madhavi Sharma (Konkona Sen) voluntarily withdrawn her
pivotal article.

Corporate
follows a formula that Madhur Bhandarkar has chalked out as his own. As Page
3 explored the unglamorous face of high society that included homosexuality,
immorality and even pedophile, Corporate looks at the business society with
the same critical eyes. All successful men are cut throat devils in disguise
and all women are branded as either 'public' or 'private' commodities. As a
group of drivers continuously passed judgement on their bosses in Page 3,
similarly the peons in the corporate offices keep interjecting this film with
comments on their superiors. It's a clear demarcation between the lower and
upper classes. The protagonist, in this case Bipasha, somehow comes across a
representative of the middle class and it's the middle class that always
suffers most.

Performances are good and the direction is certainly
crisp. The only problem with the film is getting past the first half of it.

--Aamna Haider Isani

*YUCK

**WHATEVER

***GOOD

****SUPER

*****AWESOME

starbytes

How far
will Shahrukh go for a buck?

The difference between Shahrukh and Aamir isn't merely
the difference of titles. King Khan has proved time and time again that his
motives in
Bollywood are extremely commercial whereas Aamir has proved himself a
conscientious part of society – he's taken up the activist role in movies
like Lagaan, Mangal Pandey and Rang De Basanti and is now actively engaging
in a cause for the Narmada Dam displacement victims. Compared to that, SRK
seems to be playing on a weak wicket.Not
only is he playing the defendant in the cola wars but he has added fuel to
fire by suggesting that these days pesticides are found in even mother's
milk. Reportedly a group of about two dozen activists in Bhopal went on a
rampage in a Madhya Pradesh town, demanding a ban on the screening of the
Shahrukh Khan starrer Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna till the superstar apologised
for endorsing the pesticide laden colas. The activists gathered near a cinema
in Indore and tore posters of KANK. Police arrived soon and prevented their
entry into the cinema hall but the protestors threatened not to allow the
film to be screened if he fails to apologise. So Shahrukh, you may have
enjoyed the crown for a long time but it's going to take a 'rising' of some
sort for you to get back a lot of your adoring fans

Sushmita
Sen in top Gere

Standing true to her Miss Universe title, Sushmita Sen
seems bent upon proving that her crown stands for beauty as well as talent
and Aishwarya
Rai's enthusiasm for working in Hollywood has rubbed off on Sush as well.
After having worked with Hollywood stars Naomi Campbell and Drena De Niro on
her upcoming film Karma, Confessions and Holi, it was recently reported that
she has signed up for a film with Richard Gere. The Miramax production called
The Expat will be directed by US based film maker Sutapa Ghosh, shot in
Argentina and Sush would be portraying an Indian immigrant in this film. The
beauty is waiting to fully recover from a recent on–location neck injury to
start shooting as her doctor has advised her a three month bed rest. It must
be mentioned here that Sush is quite jinxed on the sets – she passed out
when a huge overhead light fell on her head on the sets of Filhaal and her
hair got caught in a fan while shooting for It Was Raining That Night. She
was bedridden for a month then. And so here goes a silent prayer for Richard
Gere and the producers of The Expat…

Brian
Lara debuts in Bollywood

Producer Viveck Vaswami has reportedly signed up Brian
Lara for his
upcoming twelve million dollar film, Dulha Mil Gaya. The West Indian
cricketer will be making his film debut in Bollywood and the film also
promises to star Sachin Tendulkar as well as Sushmita Sen. Says a source,
"The reason why Vaswani is shooting in West Indies is because he has
been asked to promote the locales there through his movie, and the investors
are from the Trinidad and Tobago embassy itself. Hence, it has been easy
getting in Lara for the project, but it is unlikely that he will speak in
Hindi." The cricketer was also in Mumbai recently to walk the ramp for
designer Deepika Gehani (shown in picture). Well, well – that means more
cricketers in the glamorous world of Bollywood as well as Bollywood going
more global. The film's titile – Dulha Mil Gaya – may not sound like a
winner but if it gets the right publicity (it's slated for release in March
2007 to coincide with the ICC World Cup hype in West Indies) it'll be a well
struck deal.

Does
Tom's mission seem impossible?

Tom Cruise's 14 year relationship with Paramount Pictures
has come to an
end following disappointing results of Mission Impossible III. The
corporation claimed that Cruise's behaviour in this last one year had easily
shaved 100 to 150 million dollars from the film's profits. And though
Paramount has been benefiting tremendously from Tom's blockbusters for the
past 14 years (around 3 billion to be exact), they decided that the ten
million dollars being paid to him as retainer were too much considering his
current fading popularity. Sumner Redstone, chairman of Paramount parent
Viacom Inc, said Cruise's recent behavior, such as jumping on Oprah Winfrey's
couch and
aggressively advocating Scientology, was "creative suicide." Tom
has retaliated by saying that Cruise/Wagner has 100 million dollars in
private funds that can easily be boosted to 300 million. That's enough for
him to continue with his film projects. But it'll take him more than money to
profit from these ventures, especially since he's lost a huge fan base. Is
this the real Mission Impossible?

Angelina
Jolie goes to India

A mixed cast is being roped in for the production of
Michael Winterbottom's A Mighty Heart, the film adaptation of the book.
Angelina will be playing the
role of Mariane Pearl, wife of Daniel Pearl whose story the book reveals. Aly
Khan, a small time actor based in England (last seen in Meera's Nazar and
currently on TV series Sharpe's Challenge and The Bill) will join her in the
lead cast along with Irrfan Khan who will be seen in role of an investigating
officer. The film was to be shot in Pakistan and the crew was in Karachi a
couple of months ago but since Irrfan Khan has been supposedly been denied a
visa, the location has been shifted to India - the country with the much
'softer' image. Our loss is India's gain. When will we learn?

band
wagon

The
second coming of Rushk

Instep
takes an inside look at Rushk – the brainchild of Uns Mufti and Ziyyad
Gulzar and explores what makes these musicians tick

By Maheen Sabeeh

Meet Rushk

In a white collared shirt
and black pants, Ziyyad Gulzar sits comfortably
opposite Uns Mufti, who looks like a schoolboy in a light blue shirt and dark
denims. Uns is at his computer that comes with keyboards and is surrounded by
small Asian artifacts. The room is crammed with amplifiers and electronic
gadgets. A black electric guitar stands still next to a colossal rack filled
with CDs and music magazines. Welcome to the Rola office, the media facility
of Uns Mufti. "We are not a label," yells Uns Mufti stroking his
chin. Ziyyad looks at Uns with a quizzical look and wonders out loud,
"So, what is Rola?"

"Rola is a multimedia
project where anything from audio to visual to web development is done for
various clients," answers Uns, stretching his legs and yawning as he
speaks. Together, these two men form Rushk. Talk about opposites
attracting...

Rushk came into being in
2001 when Ziyyad Gulzar and Uns Mufti decided to do a musical project
together. In 2003, after recording their solo offering Sawal, Rushk went to
all major record labels in Pakistan but none agreed to release it. Sawal was
categorised as incomprehensible musicwith
no potential to sell. It was released in India through BMG Crescendo but at
that point as Uns puts it, "Pop music was being killed in India by
Bollywood music."

Sawal was released on
cassettes only in Pakistan back then but gained a cult following because it
was available for download from some prominent e-zines. Now Rushk have once
again taken the plunge in the local music market and have re-released their
debut Sawal…

Two-man show

Uns Mufti and Ziyyad Gulzar
are as different as chalk and cheese. Where Ziyyad is about balance, Uns is
about achieving the impossible. But the binding force for these two men is
their mothership – Rushk. For Uns and Ziyyad, Rushk is freedom. It is their
playground andkeyboards,
guitars and a mélange of instruments are their toys. Passion for music
connects two absolutely diverse personalities. Their goal it seems is to
impress each other, rather than anyone else.

Most of the alternately
heart wrenching, sarcastic and morbid word play comes from Uns Mufti. Rushk
confess bluntly that they do have disagreements but it is easy for them to
get past them. "Yeh (Ziyyad) mujh se editing karwata hai," laughs
Uns.

But things haven't been
easy. The lead vocalist on Sawal is a friend of theirs who doesn't reside in
Pakistan. The two videos they did release were banned on local music channels
and they don't have a single live public concert to their name. In ruffled
hair that falls all the way down to his neck, Uns takes a long hard drag on a
cigarette, cleans the air and says, "Nazia is a friend who is a
classically trained vocalist. She lives in the U.A.E and keeps on coming and
going. She was brought in to sing on the album. We may get her to sing on the
next album." And Ziyyad adds, "Our videos were not banned. Someone
from the channels saw it and felt that it should not get airplay.Now, our old videos will get airtime on upcoming new channels."

Rushk's reluctance in doing
a concert is understandable. After all, the electronic sound of the album
will not be easy to pull off, not to mention the vocalist in absentia But a
musician is not fully established if he doesn't perform. "It's not like
we don't want to perform. The response to our re-release has been gradual but
good. We'll do a concert once we figure out how to do it. We want our
performance to be visual as well. Yeh naheen ke char gaaney ga diye,"
says Uns.

Rushk is out to do
something new. Ziyyad Gulzar is a musical veteran. He saw his first
commercial success in the mid '90s with Milestones. Interestingly, Milestones
also featured a female vocalist, Candy Pereira. After Milestones came Akash
with Ali Tim, Ziyyad and Ali Haider. Around the same time, Rushk also
happened. Ziyyad couldn't juggle both musical projects, so let Akash go.
After Sawal released in 2003, Ziyyad joined Ali Azmat on his first solo
venture. "I always told Ali that when you're serious, we'll do something
together. It was very exciting for me because I hadn't played live since
1999. Ali did the writing and together we laid out Social Circus,"
Ziyyad says, reminiscing. Social Circus is a fantastic album and part of its
success can be credited to Ziyyad who takes Ali's stage antics to a whole new
level when they perform live. In between Rushk and playing live for Ali Azmat,
Ziyyad also works at Standard Chartered. He has been working for the past 12
years. He openly admits, "I love my job. My bank is like my family.
" That's a new age rocker for you!

On the other hand Uns Mufti
has Rola and it's projects. Recently Uns also directed his first video for
Joey – the new guy on the music scene – 'Main Nahi Hoon' for which he won
an LSA nomination this year. "Yaar, Joey aaya and he said, 'Main Yeh,
Yun, Aisa, Waisa Karoonga'. Main ney kaha 'theek hai' and so we did the
video." Ziyyad adds laughing, "It was a one off."

Despite making music that
is gloomy at the best of times,Ziyyad
and Uns are both happy go lucky. Not brooding in their own sense of
self-importance, they work together like a house on fire. Where Uns moves his
hands and is alwaysanimated,
Ziyyad sits comfortably at one place and only moves his eyes. When a phone
rings, the two of them, nod their heads along like a song they know is
playing.

Sawal featured Ali Haider
on two tracks as well. "You have to direct people as to how to sing on
each song. That is what we did with Ali and he sounds good right?" says
Ziyyad who thinksanyone can
sing provided he practices and is directed.

The question is will Sawaal
work now, in this day and age? It is by no means a commercial album. Even
today, Pakistani music's new stars are stereotypical pop stars Annie, Omer
Inayat, Jimmy Attre."If we were making this album with the idea of
selling like hot cakes, our sound would've changed significantly," says
Uns to which Ziyyad adds, "We make music for the love of it."

In order to survive in our
music industry, where new bands are coming in everyday, a band has to be
media-friendly. But Rushk is termed as 'media shy' by many. Deconstructing
this theory, Uns Mufti exclaims, "Hey, tomorrow if Sawal becomes a
commercial hit, I'll grow my hair further long and open my buttons further
down. I'm not saying that if success comes I won't take it."

Still standing

These days, Ziyyad Gulzar
is busy with Ali Azmat's next album. The rehearsals have already started at
Ali's house and they will record it later this year at Mekaal Hasan's studio
in Lahore. "Playing with Ali is fun at times and at others it's not but
overall, it has been great practice doing so many shows," says Ziyyad.

Uns is busy with his other
projects at Rola alongside releasing Rola songs that he and his team did for
clients. Now that the number has gone up to 8-9 tracks, Uns will release it.
Clearing the air about Coven, Uns says, "They are amazing and I am not
doing anything for them other than introducing them to a record label."

Uns and Ziyyad seem happy
now that the second Rushk record is all set to roll. And this time, it won't
be this big of a battle for the duo when release time comes close. Now, they
have a record label in Pakistan who released their album and hopefully will
also release the next one.

Ultimately music is about
being true to the realities of life – most of the times at the very least.
But this phenomenon has changed all over the world. Gone are bands like Pink
Floyd, The Clash, The Doors and local acts like Vital Signs and Junoon who
made a point to focus (directly or indirectly) on the times that we live, the
way the world is going.

An essential ingredient in
music progression is experimentation. It was the experimentation of Sufi
poetry and tablas against electric guitar that made Junoon a household name
and it was experimentation with Michael Brook and Peter Gabriel that made
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan a legend world over. While Rushk may be no Junoon or
NFAK, they are following a path that in its essence is different. Instead of
concentrating on pretty, colourful videos and designer outfits, Rushk is
about blending inspirations that one finds in everyday life and turning it
into a thought that can be felt on an entire record. Rushk is a promise that
it is not over yet.Whether this
album comes out of a cult following and becomes a mass album remains to be
seen but as long as musicians like Uns Mufti and Ziyyad Gulzar are
experimenting with sounds and words, there will be hope!

Rushk
ask a number of questions on their album and in their own way, they also
provide an answer…

Artist:
Rushk

Album:
Sawal*****

On first hearing Sawal is a
coherent piece of music. It is an album from start to finish with each track
connecting the dots in a circular maze that is a reflection on the
surroundings of one man. This album asks questions and in its own thrillingly
strange way, it manages to answer a few of them, if not all.

The questions are
predominant in almost every song: the intensely beautiful 'Behti Naar' with
its jazz like feel with gorgeous saxophone solo and soft piano and intricate
wordplay, "Har Ang Num Honey Laga/Haqeeqat Lagey Afsana," the
sinisterly melodic 'Mushkil' where the fatigued protagonist sweeps the
listener into her inner turmoil of the naivety of her love, the decisions
that lie ahead as she croons, "Sochti Hoon Kya Tujh Sey Keh Doon/ Teri
Nadani Ka Gala Ghot Doon," the short but effective 'Khuahish' with its
ultimate questioning that sums up jealousy and revengeful notions and their
aftermath in one big swoop as Nazia (Zuberi) sings, "Mile Ga Kya Tumhe
Ab/ In Jali Kati Batoon Sey."

As a songwriter, Uns asks
questions. This questioning continues with the retrospective 'Khoj' that asks
you after lone memories, lost survivors, what else is there to fight. On a
similar melancholic note, one finds the magnificent 'Inteqaam' and the lovely
ballad, 'Bheegi Chandni'.Where
'Inteqaam' haunts with its indirect hints at blurring the lines between
what's real and true and running from it, 'Bheegi Chandni' takes a further
leap and moves from melancholy to sheer hopelessness and morbidity and points
at the emptiness that sweeps into human psyche and makes one ignorant and
perhaps even indifferent.

Musically, Sawal works as
an architectural monument, layered with an air of slightly mournful yet
sarcastic compositions. And fortunately, the album does not focus on guitar
as a sole instrument. Sawal concentrates heavily on everyday 'noise' and uses
it as playground to build up a song in an effective and a very personal sort
of a way – the isolated footsteps in 'Khuahish', dialing of a phone and
lone bell ringing in 'Khoj', flies buzzing in the opening of 'Qaed', a
dial-up internet connection in 'Abhi.. Yahan' are just some examples.

There are many surprises in
the album. The first one being the vocalist: Nazia, who sings in the most
sonorous, often sultry and at times, sarcastic and angered way ever done by a
female vocalist on a locally produced album. The second surprise comes in the
form of Ali Haider who sings in just the right direction in 'Rahen' and 'Adhoora'.
After a very long time, Ali Haider has sounded this good. The third and final
surprise comes in the form of tablas. In an album that one could put perhaps
under the category of electronica, the usage of tablas on certain tracks is
simply a welcome.

Sawal surpasses all
expectations. This is no riff after riff, guitar slashing rock album. Neither
is it your average Bhangra pop-meets-filmi music album. Sawal has a
precarious depth to it and with its sarcastic wordplay and sonically gripping
sound, it remains a superlative album. Sawal is a must have album, just to
affirm the fact that Pakistan does have its very own Radiohead.

*****Get the CD NOW!

****Just get it

***Maybe maybe not

**Just download the best
song

*Forget that this was made

--Maheen Sabeeh

obituary

The day
the shehnai died

Instep pays
tribute to shehnai maestro Ustad Bismillah Khan

By Aijaz Gul

He brought the little known
shehnai to the centre stage of Indian classical music. When he played the
small strange instrument, traditionally played in wedding processions or
Hindu religious rituals, it was magic. The soothing sweetness and sublime
peace Ustad Bismillah Khan created with the shehnai transcended borders and
beliefs.

After giving the world the
sheer pleasure of hearing him make magic with his unusual instrument of
choice for seven decades, Ustad Bismillah Khan passed away on August 21 in
Varanasi near his beloved Ganges river. The years finally caught up with him
as he died of cardiac arrest at the age of 90. A true connoisseur of all
things pleasurable, Ustad Bismillah wanted to have real food – home-made
halwa even on his death bed.He is survived by five sons, three daughters and many grand
and great-grandchildren. His art dies with him as none of his children play
the shehnai, even though the youngest does play the tabla.

Like most classical
maestros Ustad Bismillah Khan was financially hard-pressed in his last years.
The Indian government though was very supportive. Prime Minister Vajpayee
sent him five hundred thousand rupees and the current Prime Minister, Dr.
Manmohan Singh sent him two hundred and fifty thousand rupees. The government
also arranged a shehnai performance in the Parliament Annex where Bismillah
Khan performed for his own benefit.

Bismillah Khan was born in
a small village of Behar to a family of court musicians. Spending his
childhood on the bank of Ganges, Bismillah had a mystical attachment to the
holy river. At six, he moved in with his grandparents, who lived across the
river in Varanasi, the holy town. Growing up, his maternal uncle Ali Buksh
Vilayatu, a shehnai player at Varanasi's Vishwanath Temple had a strong
influence on this musical genius. His uncle was a tough teacher. He insisted
that Bismillah and his elder brother get up at dawn every morning and
practice playing the shehnai.

According to Bismillah, he
was never interested in academics. While cousins and friends were in school,
he played marbles in the streets or played around with his uncle's shehnai.
He knew he would be a musician one day. Maestros feel genius in their bones;
indeed this is what drives them forward.

Under the strict discipline
of his uncle, Bismillah became familiar with various forms of music like
thumri and kajri. He also started studying khayal and became familiar with
many raags.He began taking shehnai seriously. The shehnai is not an easy
instrument to play. One needs the circular breathing technique to master it.
Enormous breath control is needed to play sustained passages in a fast tempo.

Bismillah dropped out of
school in class four to accompany his uncle on music trips. His first solo
performance was in 1930 at the Allahabad Music Conference and he brought
shehnai centerstage with his concert in the Calcutta All India Music
Conference in 1937. That performance was powerful enough to be remembered
decades later. He was invited to play on August 15 at the Red Fort in Delhi
on the eve of Independence and this became a pattern for the next sixty
years. Bismillah Khan's poignant shehnai resounded at the Red Fort whenever
India celebrated its independence.

During the '60s his
popularity soared in the West and countless offers flowed in to perform
there. He rejected them one after another – he was mortally afraid of
flying. On the great insistence of the Indian Government, he finally agreed
to perform at the Edinburgh Festival but on condition that he and his
entourage be allowed to stop over in Makkah and Madina. The government agreed
and Ustad Bismillah Khan conquered his fear of flying by doing Hajj. He
discovered flying wasn't all that bad and so he visited almost every capital
of the world and met with dignitaries worldwide. He visited Pakistan in the
late '70s and played at NAFDEC II Auditorium in Islamabad. The concert was
arranged by the Pakistan Arts Council under the auspices of the Ministry of
Culture. During the concert, some guests were talking among themselves.
Bismillah Khan put down his shehnai and demanded pin drop silence and pin
drop silence there was till the end of concert.

Bismillah Khan has received
the highest and most cherished civil awards in India: Padma Shri, Padma
Bhushan, Padma Vibhushan and Bharat Ratna. Only two other classical musicians
have won these honours: Ravi Shankar and M.S. Sabbulakshmi. After the demise
of his wife, Bismillah began keeping his instrument by his pillow. His modest
house in Varanasi has no expensive furniture, carpets or fixtures. Just plain
benches and a takht. Photographs of Ustad with world dignitaries are the only
"decorations" on the bare walls. His minimal simplistic lifestyle
was in sync with the maestro's character. He almost always commuted in cycle
rickshaws and smoked Will's cigarettes. There was nothing highbrow about him.
He was a devoted Shia Muslim who also worshipped Saraswati – the Hindu
goddess of music. He belonged to a generation of abstract principles of
perfectly tuned notes. His greatness was being in harmony with the composite
culture that made up his country.

Bismillah Khan worked for
films for a while but did not like the glamour and pretense of showbiz. He
only worked with his friends. He played shehnai for the acclaimed film
Sanadhi Apanna. He acted in Satyajit Ray's Jalsaghar and again played shehnai
for his friends Vijay Bhatt and Shankar Bhatt for their film Goonj Uthi
Shehnai (remember Lata's 'Terey Sur Aur Merey Geet'?). He also played in
Shahrukh Khan's Swades (2004) in the musical number, 'Yeh Jo Des Hai Mera'
and the instrumental version of the same song. Ustad Bismillah always had
many offers to play in films which he almost always rejected.

Goutam Ghose directed a
documentary on him, Sang-e-Meel Sey Mulaqat. Yves Billon made a 52-minute
documentary in 1992 in English/French on the music of Bismillah Khan and
showed him as one of the greatest shehnai players who changed the status of
shehnai from a common court instrument to that of a classical solo
instrument. The film was set along the banks of Ganges, in the mystical
Varanasi. He was in the United States when he was offered to play and teach
there. He was also offered a replica of Varanasi in the US but he questioned,
"How will you be able to bring my Ganges here?" That's how deep his
attachment was to the temples and the Ganges.

On his demise, Lata said he
was like a father to her and his demise was a personal loss to her and the
world of music. Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh said that he was the
greatest musician of the country and an example of India's composite culture.

Bismillah Khan did not live
in style and yet in recent years he was financially unstable. The government
offered him all medical help in Delhi. He politely refused, "People come
to Varanasi to spend their last days. Why would I leave Varanasi to spend my
last days in Delhi?" Such was the style of Bismillah Khan.

The gentle genius of
Bismillah Khan is perhaps single handedly responsible for making shehnai a
famous classical instrument from being a common court prop. He believed that
music has no caste and he received love and affection from everyone. Many
others would think it contradictory for a devout Shia to play the shehnai in
Muharram processions, the Ganges ghats and the famous Visvanath temple but
Bismillah Khan thought otherwise and that made him a world celebrity. His was
divine unity in shehnai. Ustad Bismillah Khan managed to captivate the
audience because his music was true and it was the sound of the people. We in
Pakistan heard it too and so we too bid a sad farewell to the maestro who
made a rather mournful sounding instrument sing songs of joy.

Musical
Notes

Latest
video on the block

After launching their debut
album, Sajid and Zeeshan are back with a brand new video, 'Have to Let Go
Sometime'. The fact that the song is relatively
fast paced compliments the graphical nature of the video and after 'King of
Self', 'Freestyle Dive' and 'My Happiness', this Peshawari duo once again
impresses with another great track. Sajid Ghafoor shows that not only can he
sing in English but that he has command over the language and sings in just
the right key and tone with perfect authority over words. There are few
directors out there who can make a simple performance into an interesting
video and Zeeshan Parwez is definitely one of them. One of the unique aspects
of the video is the addition of German sub titles – hey how many people do
they think read German in Pakistan, anyway? Zeeshan Parwez smiles as he
comments, "I don't expect anyone to understand the subtitles. I've been
inspired by a lot of east European videos of the eighties. We live in a
subtitles culture. There are so many times that you get a DVD and they have
all sorts of weird subtitles running. That's where the idea came from."
Instep also spoke to Sajid Ghafoor about the subtitles in the video and he
said, "There was a time that only German films were available in the
market. That inspired German subtitles for this video." Now whether or
not you understand German, you only need to know your English to enjoy this
track!

Bollywood
calling

After 'Aadat' and 'Woh
Lamhey', Atif has once again sung for Bollywood. But this time, instead of
giving his own composition, Atif has sung a brand new track, 'Tere Bin'.
Featured in the film Bas Ek Pal, it's a pure love ballad but unlike other
Indian film songs, this song strays towards the pop genre of
music. A relatively slow paced number, the song is shot on Urmila Matondkar,
Sanjay Suri, Juhi Chawla, Jimmy Shergill and Atif himself. The video shows
Atif crooning to his own words while clips from the flick are also featured.
Singing for an Indian film is the easiest way to stay in limelight, even if
one doesn't have a new album releasing any time soon. The important thing,
however is to know how and for whom to sing. Shafqat Amanat Ali Khan and
Strings – both have done it recently and both have carved a name for
themselves in India. After all, Bolly music is more famous and popular in
India than any pop group could ever hope to be. Even though Atif has already
sung for other Bolly ventures (Zeher, Kalyug), it is for the first time that
an Indian composer has focused on his voice more than anything else. This
time, Atif has played his cards very smartly. So, until his next pop track is
out, stick to 'Tere Bin'…

Vibes

CHARTS

"Everybody sees me as
this sullen and insecure little thing. Those are just the sides of me that I
feel it's necessary to show because no one else seems to be showing
them." --Fiona Apple